The Case of the Inadequate Machine Guard

Machine guards are critical to the safety not only of machine operators but also of employees who work around machines. Here's a case in point. 

An employee was sweeping the floor around a machine in operation.

Please note that written work rules did not specifically address an acceptable method of cleaning around machinery in operation. Nor was there any guarding around this machine's belt and pulley assembly. 
The employee reached under a belt and pulley guard with a hand brush in her left hand. Her glove was caught by the in-running portion of the notched flat belt, which was approximately 16 inches from the floor. Her left hand was pulled into motor pulley, causing two compound fractures to her left arm and damage to the hand, including the complete loss of the middle and index fingers.

What Went Wrong

• By reaching under the guard and under the machine, the employee put herself in danger. 
• The employee did not inspect the machine's guard to ensure it was adequate such that it would prevent her from touching or being caught in the machine's motion. She didn't know she was supposed to. 
• The guard did not completely cover the hazard. According to OSHA's inspection, there was a 4-inch gap between the guard and the machine body, which means a worker could have reached into the gap from the top or the sides. Also, the bottom of the belt and pulley, which was 16 inches from the floor, was not guarded at all. 
• The employee attempted to clean under the machine while it was still in operation. If the employee had waited for the machine to stop operation, then applied lockout and tagout to the machine before cleaning under it, she would not have been injured. 
• According to the OSHA inspection, there appeared to be a lack of written work rules regarding cleaning around machinery—especially when it is in operation. 
• There also appeared to be a lack of training because the worker did seem to be aware of machine hazards, the importance of guard inspections, or lockout and tagout practices. 

Training Implications 

• Train employees to stay away from any machinery unless they are properly trained on the machine's hazards, guarding requirements, and how to safely work on or near the machine. 
• Teach employees who work around machinery to identify machine hazards (e.g., cutting action, punching action, shearing action, and nip points) and the location of those hazards. 
• Instruct machine operators to make sure all machines are properly safeguarded and that machine guards are in place and operating properly before operation. 
• Teach employees about OSHA's guarding requirements—for example, that guards must prevent bodily contact with the danger zone, be secured to the machine, prevent objects from entering the danger zone, and so on. 
• Tell workers who to contact if a guard is missing, damaged, or inadequate, and instruct them not operate the machine until the guard is fixed.

by Chris Kilbourne

It’s Worth Paying Attention to Payroll

It’s safe to say that days ending in ‘y’ and starting with ‘pay’ are a favorite across the board when it comes to your employees. So it shouldn’t be difficult for us to remember how important the payroll function of our companies is; however, we do. Of course, we all like receiving out paychecks on a consistent, timely basis and, once in a while, remember to thank the payroll clerk for his or her efforts. But payroll processing can be a complex matter, one that requires diligent attention to detail and specific third-party mandates, specifically in the realm of health insurance.

A recent appellate court decision from the Tenth Circuit, Hansen v. Harper Excavating, Inc., reminds employers of the hazards of enrollment mistakes. This appellate court decision centered around an employee who was advised when first hired that he would be eligible under his employer’s health plan after a 90-day waiting period. Upon hire, the employee completed health insurance paperwork. Three months later, the employee discovered that the health insurance premiums were not being deducted from his pay. The employer’s benefits coordinator told the employee that his original paperwork had been lost and had him fill out a new set of enrollment forms, which she sent to the employer’s health insurance provider. The employer began regularly deducting premium payments from the employee’s paycheck henceforth.

However, after the employee quit his job a few months later, he learned that he never had coverage because the insurance policy actually specified a 60-day waiting period and required employees to apply for coverage between 60 and 90 days after starting employment, ultimately rendering the employee’s enrollment untimely. In other words, the 60 to 90 day window had passed by the time the employer actually submitted enrollment materials for the employee resulting in the insurance carrier rejecting the enrollment materials submitted by the employer. Later hospitalized, the employee sued in federal court to recover the unpaid medical expenses.

The federal trail court held that is was a breach of the employer’s ERISA fiduciary duty to provide inaccurate enrollment information and fail to inform the employee that his coverage never became effective. It then ordered the employer to pay over $57,000 in medical expenses plus over $102,000 in attorney’s fees and costs. The employer did not appeal this trail court determination – paying over $150,000 to an employee who worked for the excavation company for just six months.

After learning more about the employer’s actions through the first lawsuit, the employee filed a separate state court action. In this case, the employee asserts claims such as fraudulent nondisclosure, negligent misrepresentation, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing and special damages—all based on an alleged worsening of the employee’s medical conditions caused by lack of regular medical care. Among other conditions, the former employee had spinal cord damage and blindness in one eye. The parties are still litigating these as state law claims.

Harper Excavating’s experience is a cautionary tale about the hazards of simple enrollment mistakes. To help avoid these mistakes, employers sponsoring insured plans must:

• Be vigilant about understanding their insurers’ enrollment requirements
• Provide clear communications to employees
• Carefully track deadlines and paperwork

If, as an employer, you do not have the internal human resources expertise or bandwidth to perform this function with the necessary attention to detail and accuracy, you might wish to work with an experienced payroll service or professional employer organization.

This case demonstrates that the simple mistakes in payroll processing and health plan enrollment can be quite costly for employers. These mistakes can be easily avoided with a few easy steps, helping to ensure that pay day remains a happy one for your company.

By: Anne Wilde, The Idaho Business Review

Inexpensive Ways to Boost Employee Morale!

Employees are more beat down than ever and its affecting performance and the overall work environment. Maybe the beat down is a result of 100 degree weather, high electric bills, gas and food prices and/or work stress. Regardless of the cause, employees are losing their spark and its your responsibility as the employer to help employees get back in the groove and stay motivated.

Examples of inexpensive morale boosters:

• Jean Fridays!
• Pot luck lunches!
• EOM raffle drawings for employees who didn't miss work any days for whole month!
• Rearrange the office setting!
• Desk / Office Decoration contests!
• Theme day - Dress like someone from a favorite t.v. show or movie!
• Bring in Donuts!
• Buddy Lunch! Put employee names in a hat, employees draw name!
• Start meetings by having each attendee pick one thing they've accomplished that they're proud of that week.
• Employee Recognition!

There are endless ways employers can boost morale. Be creative and think outside the box and you'll be amazed at what you come up. Happy employees = Happy employer.

Well-Conditioned Backs: Key to Injury Prevention

Exercise is an important part of back safety. Even moderate amounts of exercise can help prevent painful back injuries at the workplace and at home.

When you think about back safety, think about back conditioning. Back conditioning is easy to do and will help to strengthen employees' backs as well as improve flexibility. Strength and flexibility are key elements to preventing back injuries on and off the job.

Back conditioning does not have to be complicated or expensive. By doing a few simple things, employees can improve the overall health of their backs and associated muscle groups.

Here are some key elements of a well-conditioned back:

• Physical conditioning. Physical conditioning of the back means not only improving back muscles but also related muscles such as the ones in the stomach and thighs. Regular exercise should help keep the back strong, maintain your flexibility, and prevent strains and sprains. 
• Flexibility. Staying flexible and limber is also important. A back exercise program should emphasize flexibility so that workers can bend, turn, and twist their backs without injury. 
• Healthy weight. Carrying extra weight, especially on the belly puts a lot of extra strain on back muscles and is a frequently cited cause of back stress and pain. 

Conditioning Exercises 
While employees can certainly join a fitness club to get their exercise, they don't have to. Some of the very best exercises for the back can be done in just a few minutes a day without any special equipment or expense.

Among the best exercises workers can do to help improve the overall health of their backs and spines are the following:

• Walking. A program of walking for 30 minutes a day will help strengthen muscles and prevent weight gain. Those new to walking as an exercise should start out slowly and work their way up. Remind workers not try to do too much too soon with any new exercise program. 
• Stretching and bending. A daily program of stretching exercises will help improve flexibility and keep the back in good condition. Stretching exercises might include bending backwards or sideways, rotating the hips, or twisting gently from side to side. 
• Sit-ups. Sit-ups help strengthen stomach muscles, which in turn help support the back. This is also a great exercise to help flatten the stomach. 
• Leg lifts. Leg lifts help strengthen the muscles in hips and buttocks. Leg lifts can be done while standing or while lying on the floor. 
• Squats. Squats strengthen the back, stomach, and leg muscles, and also help practice good lifting techniques. 

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Is A PEO Right For You?

How can today’s entrepreneurs and small business owners compete with many of their larger rivals? That’s easy—steal a page from their playbooks.

Over the last decade, many large businesses have leveraged a business phenomenon known as business process outsourcing, or BPO. The concept is simple. The company focuses on their core competencies—its products and services, customers, marketing, etc.—and outsources critical, yet noncore, functions.

Today, many small businesses are leveraging this approach as it relates to human resources by engaging the services of professional employer organizations, or PEOs. As the name implies, PEOs can assume most of an employer’s administrative responsibilities and much of the liability as well.

Through a contractual relationship with a PEO, a small business (the average member of the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations [NAPEO] has 17 employees) can create a co-employment arrangement in which the small business retains essential management control over the work performed by the employees while the PEO assumes responsibility for producing payroll, withholding and remitting payroll taxes, and providing workers compensation and health and welfare benefits.

PEOs can reduce its clients’ exposure to liability stemming from allegations of wrongful termination, discrimination, and sexual harassment by helping draft employee policy handbooks. In addition, PEOs frequently offer employment practices liability insurance that protects both the PEO and its clients.

This type of business process outsourcing helps small businesses attract and retain quality employees and minimize costly employee turnover. Because PEOs aggregate hundreds or even thousands of small businesses, they can create economies of scale in health insurance, workers compensation insurance, technology (PEOs often provide employee Web portals), and human resource support. PEOs level the playing field for small businesses by providing them with a large company human resources experience.

Here are some things to consider when engaging a PEO:

• Look for PEOs that are flexible and can meet your human resources needs. 
• Understand how the PEO’s employee benefits programs fit into your overall employee compensation. Can the PEO help you determine overall employee compensation? 
• Ask for client and professional references. 
• Make certain that the PEO is licensed if required in your state. 

Carefully review the service agreement, which can be lengthy and involved. A typical initial service agreement covers 12 months. Anything shorter could be construed as a temporary employment arrangement and therefore potentially subject to taxes.

PEOs can free you up to run your business and attract and retain great employees so that your business will thrive, not just survive.

By: Joe Cole, NAPEO CEO

Are you, the HR Manager, Held Responsible?

Yes, you are.


Employers and their HR Managers are responsible for labor law compliance. More than ever, HR managers are under pressure to ensure that their companies employment practices are correct and fair. Failure to do so and show good faith effort attempts to comply can lead to catastrophic claims paired with fines and back pay that no employer is ever prepared to pay.


Now you, the HR Manager, are being held personally liable for the files your responsible for. You can be charged and you can be fined.


As the HR Manager, you should be aware and able to explain the following:

• Job Titles and Descriptions are maintained and current
• All employees are classified as either Exempt or Nonexempt
• Basis for Exemption classification
• If anyone under 18 years of age is employee
• If uniforms are required and how deductions are applied
• Deductions to employees do not result in wage being reduced below minimum wage
• If and how employee are paid for orientation, training time and medical test
• If shift rates exist
• How time is recorded
• How overtime is paid
• Any practices of rounding or automatic deductions
• How employee wage garnishments are calculated, maintained and paid
• Company policies and forms relating to the Family and Medical Leave Act

If you're unable to answer one or more of the items listed above then you likely have one or more practices that are non-compliant that would cost you should you be audited.


TrendHR can help! Contact us today for an internal audit! 1-866-582-1578

Form I-9 Common Errors

Are you in charge of HR? Employee Files? Well you are responsible for ensuring employee file compliance!

Now days you, yes you, can be held personally liable for hiring and continuing to employee individuals not authorized to work in the United States. Protect your self and your company by reviewing your Form I-9′s and start making corrections TODAY!

Common Errors

ERROR: Liquid paper (white out), correction tape, scribbled out mistakes / any change obscuring information.

• CORRECTION: Staple new/clean Form I-9 to the back. Complete the section over that contained errors.

ERROR: Over documentation. Document details in List A and B and/or C. Can only have B&C or only A.

• CORRECTION: Staple new/clean Form I-9 to the back. Complete Section 2 only on the new form.

ERROR: Employee completed wrong section, Employer completed wrong section.

• CORRECTION: Simple mistake like a signature in wrong place, have person who made error cross through mistake, initial and date.

ERROR: Terminated employee’s Form I-9 has errors but couldn’t reach them to get the Form corrected.

• CORRECTION: Memo is completed, dated and attached to Form I-9’s for any terminated employees with missing or incorrect information. Documenting this shows the employer made a good faith effort to have corrected Form I-9’s.

ERROR: Errors are large or in several places.

• CORRECTION: Staple new/clean Form I-9 to the back. Complete all sections. Dates must be current, cannot back date.

ERROR: Missing, Lost or Never Had a Form I-9 on file for Employee (Active or Terminated).

• CORRECTION: Active employees must complete Form. Attach memo stating date realizing employee did not have a form and all dates must be actual, not back dated. Terminated employees are to be contacted and attempted to correct. Notes and action must be logged to support good faith effort.

TrendHR can help! Contact us today at 1-866-582-1578!